"Pay First" Rule Does Not Apply To Local Taxes

In City of Anaheim v. Superior Court, the Court of Appeal ruled that the "pay first" rule embodied in Article XIII, Section 32 does not apply to local taxes. That rule requires a taxpayer seeking to challenge a tax to pay the tax first and file a lawsuit second. The court also held that there was no general public policy requiring the payment of taxes before litigation to make the rule applicable where the local tax at issue did not have a "pay first" provision and the tax had never been collected.